Flora and I lived in Perry, FL at the time. Flora died in 1970. She was an Ohio University Bobcat and a Florida Gator.
It was the football season of 1968. It was also the first year of “Freedom of Choice” in Taylor County, Florida. “Freedom of Choice” was one of the South’s final efforts to delay, or at least control racial integration of the schools. It was based on the idea of maintaining two separate, parallel school systems, one predominately black, and the other predominately white. An individual was free to choose either.
“Freedom of Choice” in Taylor County only had one year in before the Federal Government’s patience with the South ran out. In 1969 dual school systems were abolished. It’s a shame we in the South waited so long to try it, because I think “Freedom of Choice” worked pretty well and would, as a transition, have worked better than instant integration.
Several black kids did choose to go to formerly all-white schools, and they did quite well. They may have contributed to what in 1969 turned out to be a surprisingly smooth integration, by showing the whites that blacks could do the work, and that the white kids weren’t hurt by their being in the same schools. Doubtless, their success and acceptance alleviated the fears of many black parents.
One of the black kids who chose to go to Taylor County High School was Willie Clayton. Willie was small (about 5’6″ and 135 lb.) but he was fast and tough. He became a starting defensive back on the TCHS Bulldogs football team.
Ester was a sort of “Tugboat Annie” character who operated a fish camp at Keaton Beach on the Gulf Coast. She was a big rough looking woman who always wore blue denim overalls, a long-sleeved plaid shirt, and Wellington boots. She served beer and sandwiches and charged fifty cents for the use of her boat ramp. She had a deep, gruff voice, and her language could be quite colorful.
It so happened that at the first home game that football season Flora and I sat at the very edge of a large group of black fans in the home stands. Ester sat right behind me.
It seems funny now, but then it was a very new feeling to have black folks sitting next to white folks at any kind of public function. I felt a bit ill-at-ease to begin with. Ester’s frequent loud remarks about letting the “niggers” into the ballpark did not make me feel any better. Later, during the game, she made several comments to the effect that “they shouldn’t let white boys play football with black boys.”
The opponents that night were the Walton County Braves, from DeFuniak Springs, Florida. The teams were well matched, and the first half was pretty much all defense. The Braves had scored a touchdown and converted successfully to lead at the half – seven to nothing.
The third quarter was scoreless, but midway through the fourth the Bulldogs scored. They missed the extra point and still trailed seven to six. Walton’s coach did not try to sit on his lead. After the kick-off the Braves started mixing passes and runs and had moved from about their own twenty-five to the Bulldog forty-five. It looked as though they might add to their lead.
At this point the Braves quarterback called for a long pass. He dropped back and waited for his receivers to get clear. Then he threw toward a wide-open receiver near the Bulldog fifteen-yard line. The pass looked good, but out of nowhere came little number 22, Willie Clayton! Willie leaped into the air, took the ball from the taller receiver, came down on his feet, and headed for the Braves’ goal.
As Willie took the ball, Ester came to her feet yelling, “Run you nigger son-of-a-bitch, run!”
I have never been so horrified in my life! I would gladly have gone under the bleachers to disassociate myself from her. Ester continued to yell, and Willie kept running – all the way for the winning touchdown.
I think there was more than the normal significance of a game winning touchdown in Willie Clayton’s run. It started a bit of bonding between the black and white communities. Willie became a popular player, and I think was well liked by the TCHS students.
I believe that Willie paved the way for a peaceful and incident free integration the next year. Many had predicted, “Blood will run in the streets before Taylor County integrates its schools.” It did not happen. Was it Willie’s winning touchdown? Could it be that disgust with Ester’s “cheering” helped?